PGDA Digital Mentorship

The PGDA Digital Mentorship structure aims to fill the space between the formal and informal. On one end of the mentorship spectrum we have peer-to-peer conversations and informal meetings ranging from online discussions to approaching each other at gamedev meetups. Our community has been active in encouraging valuable discourse and sharing in these spaces. On the other end, we have formalized teaching structures.

What are the advantages of a program like this?

Accessibility: open to beyond just students of gamedev at Austrian institutions, a digital mentorship breaks down barriers and helps minimize systemic barriers in access that are inherently found in large institution settings.
Flexibility: mentees and mentors benefit from a highly customizable time structure.
Innovation: we gain ground in using digital tools inherent to our gamedev environments and communities when carrying out mentorship online. Thus, we heighten our digital fluency.
Visibility: conversations that were formerly happening in completely undocumented formats become a bit more formalized and can be archived for future reference and benefit to the wider indie gamedev community.
Discussion: some group discussions within the framework of the mentorship enable multilateral sharing of experiences, allowing mentors to learn from their learners and other mentors, mentees to learn from other mentees, and facilitating the blending of peer mentorship and teacher-student architectures.

So, how do I participate in this program? What do I do?

It’s all really quite simple!

Happening a few times per year, the Digital Mentorship Programme takes place over three months with a flexible structure. After the application phase 3 monthly group meetings will be scheduled as an overall timeframe. In between the group meetings, the Mentorship pairings connect and share inputs. The definitive form of the mentoring is up to the individual Mentors and Mentees and their needs. All group meetings and official communication will be happening through the PGDA discord server.

The whole initiative is a fully volunteer-based operation, there is no cost or monetary compensation involved. Therefore, we really appreciate everyone taking up the effort to support the local gamedev industry with their expertise!

Application Survey

Every programme starts with an application survey collecting the areas of expertise and interests of the participants. Based on the answers on this survey, we form fitting Mentor-Mentee matches. After the application closes all participants will be notified with their pairing and a proper kick-off event will be scheduled.

Group Meetings

As an enclosing timeframe, three monthly group meetings will be scheduled. All participants of the programme are encouraged to partake in these meetings to receive additional organisational information, share experiences from their mentorship or discuss questions and problems.

Kick-off: The whole programme will be kicked off with an overview of the whole mentorship process, with additional information and an opportunity for all participants to introduce themselves.
Mid-term: Halfway through the programme, we will hold another group meeting to check in on all pairings and discuss possible problems or questions. Additionally, this is an opportunity to share your experience with the mentoring process so far and tell us about approaches that worked well for you.
Final Retrospective: We close the programme with a retrospective to collect ideas and feedback to improve the initiative going forward.

Weekly Check-Ins between Mentor and Mentee

This can take any form you two agree on: in person, playing a game together online, building a game or game asset together, participating in a game jam together, talking by text, voice or video call… or even hanging out in person, if you are both comfortable with that!
Please try to check in with your mentor/mentee about once a week. If you are unable to do so for some reason, everyone understands. You can agree on compromises that you are both OK with. But do not leave your mentor or mentee stranded!
Alternative meeting schedules can be arranged in consultation with Clio or Raff. Please write one of us to discuss alternatives if your schedule is particularly difficult, and together we will find a solution.

Contact

The Digital Mentorship Programme is organised by Clio Montrey and Raffael Moser. If you have any questions regarding this programme, do not hesitate to ask on the PGDA discord server or contact us directly at mentoring@pgda.at.

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